The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 13, 1992
Filed:
Sep. 06, 1991
James B Carpenter, Austin, TX (US);
Donald K Larson, Cedar Park, TX (US);
Charles M Mansfield, Austin, TX (US);
Richard A Patterson, Georgetown, TX (US);
Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, St. Paul, MN (US);
Abstract
A device for splicing multiple optical fibers includes a novel splice element having two plates formed from a sheet of malleable material, there being a fold line in the sheet forming a hinge, the two plates being folded toward one another to define opposing surfaces. One of the opposing surfaces has several fiber receiving grooves therein, parallel with the fold line, and the other surface has ramps at each end to support the fibers proximate the transition from their buffered portions to their stripped portions. The ramps are adjacent porches which are integrally formed with one of the plates, the porches having additional grooves for aligning the fibers with the fiber receiving grooves. Stop pads are provided on both opposing surfaces, at the corners of the plates, to insure a clearance space at the ends of the plates which provides for more gradual clamping of the fibers, reducing insertion loss.